Entertainment

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Two days after the very shocking “slap heard all around the world” at the Oscars, actress Jada Pinkett Smith posted a note on social media.

“This is the season for healing and I’m here for it,” reads the message shared in a Tuesday morning Instagram note. 

While the caption-less post didn’t directly address Sunday night’s incident, it’s the first time the 50-year-old actress has spoken publicly since her husband, Will Smith, slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face for a joke he made during the Academy Awards telecast about Pinkett’s shaved head.  Pinkett’s message also comes a day after Smith apologized to Rock and the Academy for storming the stage, smacking Rock and then twice yelling at him, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.” 

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” Smith said on Instagram Monday. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.” Pinkett-Smith has publicly stated she shaved her head after developing alopecia, which causes hair loss.

Addressing Rock, Smith wrote, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be…”

The intense Oscars broadcast moment was viewed by millions — 15.36, to be exact — including Smith’s mother, Carolyn Smith who, in an exclusive interview with ABC affiliate WPVI in Philadelphia, said it was the “first time I’ve ever seen him go off.”

“He is a very even, people person…I’ve never seen him do that,” Carolyn said. 

After the outburst, Smith went on to accept the Best Actor award for King Richard.

On Monday, the Academy said they are launching a “formal review” of the incident.

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While it went unnoticed by some in the wake of the “slap heard ’round the world,” some fans of Kirsten Dunst took issue with an Oscars moment in which co-host Amy Schumer referred to the nominated actress as a “seat filler.”

The bit had Schumer pulling Dunst from her seat and sitting in it next to The Power of the Dog nominee Jesse Plemons.

“You know that’s my wife, Amy,” Plemmons protested. 

“You’re married to that seat filler?” Schumer said. “Oh, that’s weird.”

Dunst stans can relax, however: Schumer responded to the online backlash with an Instagram post explaining, “That was a choreographed bit she was in on,” adding, “Wouldn’t disrespect that queen like that.”

Plemons and Dunst were apparently so convincing — hey, they were both Oscar-nominated for the same film, after all — that fans cried foul.

“what kristen dunst should’ve done to amy schumer,” one Tweeter noted, with footage of Will Smith‘s slap of Chris Rock.

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After a series of movie theater fly-bys, Top Gun: Maverick is finally coming in for a landing May 27, and Paramount Pictures has just debuted a new trailer to trigger your need for speed.

The pandemic-delayed movie once again sees Tom Cruise‘s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the cockpit, this time tasked with training a slate of young, hotshot pilots. “I’m not a teacher,” Maverick protests to a superior officer, played by Jon Hamm.

The request for Maverick to instruct the fliers was given by none other than Admiral Tom Kazansky — whom fans know as Val Kilmer‘s Iceman from the first film, and who has apparently advanced up the chain of command.

Maverick, meanwhile, remains a captain, partly because more medals on his chest means he’d lose his cockpit time.

“Everyone in this room is the best there is. Who the hell are they gonna get to teach us?” asks Monica Barbero, playing “Phoenix.”

Maverick’s introduction to his cadre of students comes as he shocks them by shooting vertically up through their formation. “Good morning, aviators,” he teases from his F-18 Super Hornet. “This is your captain speaking.”

Apparently, Maverick’s training is needed before the fliers face a dangerous mission.

One of his students is Miles Teller, playing “Rooster,” the son of Anthony Edwards‘ Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, whose death in the first film haunted Maverick. “My dad believed in you. I’m not gonna make the same mistake,” he sneers.

Also appearing in the sneak peek is Oscar winner Jennifer Connolly, who plays Penny Benjamin, referenced as an admiral’s daughter and an off-camera fling in the first film.

Top Gun wowed audiences with its aerial camerawork, and the new trailer teases that the long-awaited follow-up also will not disappoint.

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Late-night hosts had a field day addressing the “slap heard around the world,” using their opening to lay into Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at Sunday night’s Academy Awards over a joke the comedian made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

“Welcome one and all to The Late Show,” host Stephen Colbert began. “It’s Monday, unless you’re Chris Rock, because I’m pretty sure he got slapped into next week.”

“That’s the worst thing Will Smith has ever done. Wait, I forgot about Wild, Wild West,” the host of CBS’ late-night talker added.

“It’s now a part of our lives forever. We will never stop talking about this,” said Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “Even Kanye [West] was like, ‘You went on stage and did what at an awards show?’”

Kimmel, a two-time Oscar host, went on to praise Rock’s handling of the situation, noting he “didn’t even flinch. I would’ve been crying so hard.”

“No one did anything. Nobody lifted a finger. Spider-Man was there. Aquaman was there. Catwoman, all sitting on their hands. Nobody helped Chris Rock,” he joked.

Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC’s The Tonight Show, chose a more subtle approach, not mentioning Smith and Rock by name. Instead he quipped, “America may be divided, but it was kind of nice for us to come together to say ‘holy crap’ at the same time.”

“The 94th Academy Awards were held last night and featured the first live performance of ‘We Don’t Talk about Bruno’ from the Disney musical Encanto, followed by an unbelievable live performance of ‘We don’t Talk about Jada,'” Seth Meyers joked in his Late Night monologue, while The Late Late Show‘s James Corden expressed the same sentiment in a musical number that warned his joke writers, “We don’t talk about Jada.”

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The slap in the face Chris Rock got from Will Smith at Sunday’s Oscars have given Rock’s ticket sales a shot in the arm. TickPick reports the comedian’s ticket sales rose 641% between Sunday night and Monday morning. The ticket marketplace tweeted on Monday, “We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined.” Rock has two stand-up sets each night at the Wilbur theater in Boston this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. He then begins a world comedy tour with a pair of shows on Saturday at the Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City…

Aaron Sorkin is re-teaming with his To Kill a Mockingbird partner Bartlett Sher for a theater revival of the Lerner & Leowe musical classic Camelot. Lincoln Center Theater, in a statement on Monday, described the production as “a new version of the classic tale… reimagined for the 21st century.” Camelot, based on T.H. White’s 1958 novel The Once and Future King, itself based on the legend of King Arthur, features the memorable songs “If Ever I Would Leave You,” “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” and the title song. The musical was first staged in 1960, starring Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet. A 1967 film version starred Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave. Previews are set to begin at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater November 3, with the opening night set for December 8…

Following multiple reports that Michael Che told an audience during an appearance in Minneapolis over the weekend that he was leaving Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,” the co-anchor took to his Instagram on Sunday in a since-deleted post to clarify that his remarks were made in jest. “To comedy fans; please stop telling reporters everything you hear at a comedy show, youre [sic] spoiling the trick,” he said, along with a slide show with a screenshot of a HuffPost article titled, “Saturday Night Live Co-Head Writer Michael Che Says He’s Leaving ‘Weekend Update.’” Che, 38, joined SNL as a writer in 2013 and began co-anchoring “Weekend Update” in 2014, alongside Colin Jost…

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Hollywood week is in full swing on American Idol. 

Getting right to business, the first round of Hollywood week saw the singers choose the genre they felt best represented them and give their best audition for the judges, as they began to narrow down the competition.

The contestants weren’t all on their own though, they had help from Idol alums. Season two winner Ruben Studdard mentored R&B, while season six winner Jordin Sparks mentored Pop. Rock got a hand from season seven winner David Cook and season nine winner Lee DeWyze mentored Folk/Singer-songwriter. Season 10 runner-up Lauren Alaina mentored country and season 10’s second runner-up Haley Reinhart mentored Soul. Reigning American Idol champ Chayce Beckham also made an appearance to help out the country singers. 

While everyone was singing to secure their spot in the next round, the three platinum ticket winners — HunterGirl, Kenedi Anderson, and Jay Copeland — got to relax and move straight to the duets round of Hollywood week thanks to their impressive first auditions. However, they did serenade everyone with a performance of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” when all the auditions were said and done. And, in a surprise twist, the trio had the advantage of picking their partners for duet week, while the judges will pick for the rest of the contestants.  

American Idol returns Sunday, April 3 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Actor Will Smith apologized Monday for slapping Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the Oscars.

“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness,” Will Smith wrote in an Instagram post.

Rock, who was presenting for best documentary, made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s hair when Smith walked onto the stage and struck Rock in the face.

Once back in his seat Smith said, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth,” After the strike, most of the exchange was bleeped out for U.S. viewers.

Less than an hour later, Smith would go on to win best actor for his role in King Richard.

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith said Monday.

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(NOTE LANGUAGE) Kim Kardashian has responded to the backlash she received after telling women to hustle harder.

Kardashian told Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts in a new interview that the comments she made in a Variety profile earlier this month were “taken out of context.”

In the profile, Kardashian, who turned her reality TV fame into a business empire, said, “I have the best advice for women in business. Get your f***ing a** up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.”

The comments sparked criticism, with some online commenters calling out the privilege they say may have helped the SKIMS founder’s success.

Kardashian’s quote was even the center of a joke made at Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony, with co-host Regina Hall repeating it to Best Supporting Actress nominee Dame Judi Dench.

“This is a quote from Kim Kardashian: ‘Work harder.’ That’s what we need you to do,” Hall jokingly said to Dench.

In an interview over the weekend ahead of the premiere of her family’s new Hulu show, The Kardashians, Kim said of her quote, “It wasn’t a blanket statement towards women or to feel like I don’t respect the work or think that they don’t work hard. I know that they do. It was taken out of context, but I’m really sorry if it was received that way.”

Kardashian explained that she had previously been asked in the Variety interview about being “famous for being famous,” which she said caused her to answer so forcefully.

“That statement that I said was without questions and conversation around it, and it became a soundbite really with no context,” said Kardashian.

She added, “That soundbite came off of the notion and the question right before, which was, ‘After 20 years of being in the business, you’re famous for being famous,’ and my whole tone and attitude changed with the previous question that went into that question about what advice would you give to women.”

Kardashian’s new interview with Roberts will premiere as part of an ABC News primetime special on April 6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and will air the next day on Hulu. The special includes new interviews with Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and their “momager,” Kris Jenner.

Their new show on Hulu will premiere on April 14.

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There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the ratings for Sunday night’s Oscars telecast.

First, the good: the telecast saw a 56% jump in viewership from last year, according to Nielsen numbers quoted by Variety. Some 15.36 million people watched the show, which was hosted by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall. 

That said, that audience is the second-least-watched and second-lowest-rated Academy Awards in history, the trade explains. That’s the bad news.

By comparison, the 2019 broadcast, the Oscars’ first host-free event, drew 29.6 million viewers.

1998’s Academy Awards telecast, which saw Titanic win Best Picture, was the highest rated in history: It drew 55.3 million viewers.

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While the Denis Villeneuve film Dune scored six Oscars Sunday night, he and the craftspeople behind it are already working on its sequel. 

Backstage at the Oscars Sunday night, with his newly-engraved Academy Award in hand, cinematographer Greig Fraser dropped some hints about the follow-up. Fraser has logged an impressive filmography of late, having spent time behind the camera not only for the sci-fi epic, but also The Batman, Rogue One: A Star Wars story, The Mandalorian, and the Oscar winning Zero Dark Thirty.

“Well, I can’t give you any scoops, I hate to say it,” Fraser said, adding with a smile, “I’ve been trained by the House of the Mouse at Lucasfilm to not give you any scoops, so I won’t tell you anything beyond that.”

He continued, “But I can tell you that this is a bigger story. I read the script, and I’m more blown away by this script than I was by Part One.”

Fraser also said, “I’m more excited. In fact, I was sitting in a meeting with Denis and Patrice and Paul [Dune‘s Oscar winning production designer Patrice Vermette and VFX supervisor Paul Lambert] the other day at Denis’ house, talking about this film. And I turned to Denis, and said, ‘I can’t believe these people pay us to do this. Like this is ridiculous. They pay us to make these movies, which are so exciting and so amazing.'”

Fraser allowed, “So I can tell you it’s bigger and better and amazing, so I apologize for not giving you more than that.”

Dune Part II hits theaters in 2023.

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